And Congress isn’t much better. At least in the absence of leadership from the White House.

It’s not merely that I’m concerned lawmakers won’t put the brakes on spending. And it’s not just that I fear they won’t enact much-needed entitlement reform. I worry they’ll actually increase the burden of federal spending. Just look what’s happening as Congress and the White House negotiate a spending bill for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year. The pending deal would trade more defense spending for more Obamacare subsidies. Everyone wins…except taxpayers.

In this profligate environment, it’s hard to be optimistic about tax cuts.

By the way, I fully agree we would get more growth if Trump’s tax plan was enacted. But the Laffer Curve doesn’t say that all tax cuts pay for themselves with faster growth. That only happens in rather rare circumstances.

Daniel J. Mitchell is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition, and the economic burden of government spending. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review.